The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-03-02
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINES SUN
DAY SERMON
Subject of Discourse: THE Ran
somed."

Your friend takes you through bis valu
able house. You examine the arches, the
fresco. the grass-plots, the fish-ponds, the
conservatories, the parks OF dee:, and you
say within yourself, or you say aloud
"What did all this cost!" You see costly
apparel, or you see high-mettled span OF
| horses harnesSed with silver and gold, and
you begin to make an estimate of the value.
! The man who owns large estate cannot In
stantly tell you what it is all worth he
saws: 81 viii estimate so much for the
house, so much for the furniture, so much
for laying out the grounds, so much for the
stock, so much for the barn, so much for
the equipage-adding up, in all making this
aggregate"
| We'll, my friends, hear so much about our
mansion in heaven, about its furniture and
the grand surroundings, that want to know
how much it is all worth, and what has actll-
ally been paid for it. l cannot complete In
| a month or year the magnificent calcula-
tion; but before get through to-day y9 ! hope 9pe
to give you the figures. "9e are bought
with price,"
With some friends 1 went to London
Tower to look at the crown jewels of Eng
land. We walked around, caught one glimpse
of them, and being in the procession were
| compelled to pass out. wish that to-day !
could take this audience into the tower OF
, Gods mercy and strength, that you might
walk around just once at least and see the
crown Jewels of eternity, behold their brill
lance and estimate their value. "Ye are
bought with a price" Now, if you have
large amount Of money to pay. you DO not
nav il all ut once but you pay it by Install
ments-so much the first of January, SO much
the first Of April, so much the first OF July,
30 much the first of October, until the entlre
amount is paid. And have to tell this audi
ence that "You have been bought with
u ,,,d hot hot Y,rica naid in differ
ent installments
The first installment paid for the clearance
Of our souls was the ignominious birth OF
Christ in Bethlehem. Though we may never
be carefully looked after afterward, our ad-
vent into the world is carefully guarded. We
come into the world amid kindly attentions:
Privacy and silence are afforded when God
launches an immortal soul into the world:
Even the toughest of men know enough to
stand back. But have to tell you that in
the village on the side of the hill there was
very bedlam of uproar when Jesus was
born. In a village capable Of accommodate
Ing only few hundred people, many thou
sand people were crowded: and amid hos
tiers and muleteers and camel drivers yelling
at stupid beasts of burden, the Messiah aP-
peared No silence No privacy. better
adapted place hath the eaglet in the eyrie..
hath the whelp in the lions lair. The exile OF
heaven lieth down upon the straw The
first night out from the palace of heaven
spent in an clubhouse. One hour after laying
aside the robes Of heaven, dressed IN
wrapper of coarse linen One would nave
supposed that Christ would have made
more gradual descent, coming from heaven
first to halfway world Of great magnitude,
then to Caesars palace, then to merchants
castle in Galilee, then to private home IN
Bethany, then to fisherman's hut, and last
of all to the stable. No! it was one leap
from the top to the bottom.
Let us open the door Of the caravansary IN
Bethlehem. and drive away the camels;
Press on through the group of idlers and
ioungers. What, o Mary, no lighta mo
light" she says, save that which comes
through the door" What, Mary, no foodi
"None." she says, "only that which ls
brought in the sack on the journey" Let
the Bethlehem woman who has come in here
with kindly attentions put back the covering
from the babe that we may look upon It,
kneel Let ali voices be hushed. Son of Mary!
Son of Godl Child of a day-mon-
arch Of eternityl In that eye the
glance of a God. Omnipotence sheathed
In that babes arm. That voice to be
changed from the feeble plant to the tone
that shall wake the dead. Hosanna! Ho-
sanna Glory be to God that Jesus came
from throne to mauger that we might rise
are open, and that the door Of heaven that
once swung this way to let Jesus out, now
swings the other way to let US in. Let all
the bellmen of heaven lay hold the rope, and
ring out the news: "Behold, bring, you
glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to
all reople: for to-day is born in the city OF
David Saviour which is Christ the Lord"
The second installment paid for our souPs
clearance was the scene in Quarantanla.
f,,11 IF whnr6
there are to this day panthers and wild
beasts of all sorts; so that you must now,
the traveller says, 90 there armed with knife
or gun or pistol. 1t was there that Jesus
went to think and prav, and it was there
that this monster of hell, more sly:
more terrific than anything that ,prowled
in that country-Satan himself, met
that Publius Lentulus, in his letter to the
Roman Senate, ascribed to Jesus-that rose
had scattered its petals. Abstinence from
food had thrown him into emaciation. The
longest abstinence from food recorded in
profaue history is that of the crew OF the
Shin Juno; for twenty-three days they had
nothing to eat But this sufferer had tasted
q month and ten days before He broke fast:
Hunger must have agonized every fibre OF
the body and gpaw;d on the stomach with
teeth of death. The thought Of morsel OF
bread or meat must have thrilled the body
with something like ferocity. Turn out
pack Of men hungry as Christ was a-hua-
gered. and if they had strength, with one
yell they would devour you as a lion would
8 kid. 1t was in that pang OF hunger that
Jesus was accosted, and Satan said: NOW
change these stones, which look like bread,
into an actual supply Of bread Had the
temptation come to you or me under those
circumstances, we would have cried" Bread
it shall be-" and had been almost impatient
at the time tal on for mastication; but
Christ with one hand beat back the hunger,
and with the other hand beat back the mon
arch of darkness. O. ye tempted ones!
Christ was tempted We are told that Ma
poleon ordered coat of mail made; but be
was not quite certain that it was lmpene.
trable, so he said to the manufacturer OF
self and let us try it, and with shot
after shot from his own pistol the Emperor
found out that it was just what it retended
to be-a good coat of mail. Then tho man
received large reward. | bless God that
the same coat Of mail that struck back the
weapons Of temptation from the heart OF
Christ we may all now wear; for Jesus
comes and says: ~ have been tempted and
| know what it is to be tempted. Take this
robe that defended Me and wear it for your
selves. will see you through all trials, and
| I will see you through all temptation"
"Bur," says Satan still further to Jesus,
''come and will show you something worth
| looking at" and after half-days journey
| thay came to Jerusalem and to the top OF the
Temple. Just as one might go up in the
tower Of Antwerp and look off upon Bel
gium, so Satan brought Christ to the top OF
the Temple. Some people at a great height
feel dizzy, and have a strange disposition to
| jump: so Satan comes to Christ with pow
| erfu1 temntation in that yery crisis Stand